Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 58 Who knows the ambition of the successor monarch?
Zhu Changluo's eyes had already retracted their sharpness, and he quickly complained again: "My father and grandmother are only looking forward to my early enthronement, but you have been making excuses on the ceremonial notes and imperial edicts. My father has even issued two imperial edicts. Do you still want my father to worry about it? You keep asking for my father's will. Am I so ignorant of practical matters?"

"…I dare not."

"I have not rested all afternoon, and I know that I am not good at writing. But seeing my diligence, you should believe that if there are any shortcomings in the future, I will consider and judge them carefully if you give me your sincere advice, right?"

Zhu Changluo shook his "masterpiece" and said, "In the afternoon, there was a report that Gao Huai was killed in a mutiny at Shanhaiguan. I also ordered the Jinyiwei Admiral Wang Zhizhen to investigate personally. I have no time to spare. Is the article I wrote with my father's will and encouragement so bad?"

Shen Yikuan: ...

Which side is true: the foolish heir who has not even finished elementary school, or the heir who has extraordinary means of coup and temptation?
He suddenly mentioned Wang Zhizhen, and Shen Yiquan naturally thought about it more deeply.

In the past two or three years, his position as the second assistant has been as stable as a rock. In addition to the fact that Zhao Zhigao did not care about the affairs, another important reason was that he had a good relationship with Wang Zhizhen after he defeated Zhang Wei.

There was another civil uprising in Shanhaiguan, in which Gao Huai was killed. The successor emperor acted like a stupid student who was angry and complaining, and said angry words that he was not trusted by important officials. However, he had just looked at him sharply because of Zhang Juzheng's matter.

Shen Yikuan looked at Sijun again and saw expectation in his eyes.

He just didn't know what the heir was looking forward to.

Therefore, he said, "I am very worried, but I really have no intention of doing so. Your Highness, since the only change in the ceremonial notes is the name of the Xingdian, then let's finalize the ceremonial notes first. As for polishing the edict and correcting the omissions, there is still time. But today, all the ministers are here, so why not discuss the name of the new year after the change of the reign."

"Very good! Among the reign titles proposed by the Ministry of Rites, I like Taichang. Peace and prosperity for the country are what my father hopes for and what I aspire to be. I will start my article with these two words."

It’s like the joy of having your own era name.

Everyone praised it.

As for the reign title, they are all made of nice-sounding words, or the emperor himself may come up with one.

This time Yu Jideng came up with many alternatives, among which was the word Taichang.

It's just that the heir to the throne treated the draft edict of enthronement as "writing an article" and even used words like "breaking the topic" to express it, which seemed inappropriate.

But no one expressed this feeling, but instead thought: He emphasized again the peace and prosperity of the country.

Shen Yi Guan made up his mind and said, "Your Highness, I, like you, hope that the Ming Dynasty will be peaceful and prosperous. I dare not arbitrarily draft the good policies and graces that should be included in the enthronement edict, nor can I always have all the ministers present and delay the affairs of the ministry. I dare to request that you quickly appoint a person to the cabinet to handle the affairs, so that the ceremony will not be delayed. Moreover, Lord Shen, Lord Wang and I are all old, and the cabinet affairs are heavy, so it is appropriate to add a person."

Zhu Changluo nodded and said, "It would be great if you think the same as me. It would also be a good thing to add another cabinet minister. I would have another important and trusted minister. Does you have any recommendations? I will report to my father and the emperor will make a decision. I should be able to get him into the cabinet as soon as possible."

Shen Yiquan looked at him. Was this a sign that he had the right to speak?
"I am ashamed to be in the cabinet. How can I recommend a minister?" Shen Yi Guan bowed. "Today, all the important ministers are here. You can discuss it in court or nominate one person together."

"Why should we retreat when we are promoting talents for the country?" Zhu Changluo shook his head. "I heard that Lord Zhao was recommended by Lord Shen to the emperor to serve in the cabinet."

There was silence for a moment.

This sentence almost shows that he is not unfamiliar with the history of the court.

Now, it also seems to be expressing trust in Shen Yiquan.

"Your Highness, I am so proud of you. Since that is the case, I will recommend someone. I think the most important thing now is the many grand ceremonies. The Grand Master of the Imperial Clan previously compiled the ceremonies in the Hanlin Academy and also lectured on them to Your Highness. He is the best choice."

Yu Jideng repeatedly said “I dare not, I am ashamed”.

Zhu Changluo looked at Yu Jideng and nodded with a smile: "The Grand Master of the Imperial Clan has to worry about the grand ceremony, the provincial examinations, and the arrangements for the foreign envoys to come to congratulate. A few days ago, the Western barbarian Matteo Ricci came to the palace to offer gifts. I heard from him that the Huitong Hall was in good order and the Ministry of Rites had made very good arrangements. I think what Elder Shen recommended is very good."

Yu Jideng's heart also moved, and he suddenly remembered what the head of the Ministry of Guests had reported.

According to Matteo Ricci, the successor knew something about the West and had seen Western paintings. In addition, he was concerned about the affairs of the French in Southeast Asia and seemed to have mentioned his dissatisfaction with the French causing trouble for the Ming vassal state in Southeast Asia.

Yu Jideng never mentioned to Shen Yikuan these specific records of affairs within the Ministry of Rites.

Now, many things seem to be falling into place.

Thinking about the unusual changes in the palace before, thinking about the two handwritten edicts today and the "vernacular edict" that the heir took out himself, and then looking at the look in the heir's eyes when he looked at him, Yu Jiden was also thinking deeply: Did the heir just mention that Western barbarian by accident?
The successor said it was a good idea without even asking for other people's opinions.

At this time, there were basically two invisible thresholds for entering the cabinet: being from the Hanlin Academy, having held the title of Shangshu or Duyushi, or having held a real position.

Among the Nine Ministers, except Yu Jideng, none of them had ever entered the Hanlin Academy.

The Minister of Public Administration Fan Lun and the Minister of the Supreme Court Zheng Jizhi were not qualified at all.

Is the heir also very clear that in order to meet Shen Yikuan's prerequisite of "entering the cabinet as soon as possible", he is indeed the only choice among everyone at the moment?
"I thank Your Highness for your trust and will do my utmost to assist Your Highness in achieving his ambitions!"

"Very good, very good." Zhu Changluo was happy. "Then, the ceremony and the edict of my father's abdication have been finalized. What about the edict of accession to the throne?"

Xu Wenbi looked at him with mixed feelings.

Do we really want to cut down on the Beijing troops who are corrupt?
But we cannot say that the successor is as foolish as Zhang Weixian.

Shen Yikuan had clearly said before that he would "fill in the gaps" later, and he requested the cabinet to fill in the gaps in order to "not delay the ceremony" and "avoid the suspicion of arbitrariness."

The successor agreed to his recommendation and asked if the edict of enthronement could be finalized, which was because he did not want to add the clauses that Yu Jideng had mentioned before. No matter how useless Xu Wenbi was, no matter how much he had spent his whole life worshipping, he was now a veteran of three dynasties and understood the pros and cons of those "good policies".

The successor emperor did not blindly trust civil officials.

At this time, Tian Le came out and kowtowed deeply.

The others were a little shocked by his behavior. Shen Yikuan and Yu Jiden both looked a little uncertain.

After Tian Le knelt straight, he said, "I think that only one sentence of the edict of enthronement that Your Highness has drafted needs to be changed, and the rest can remain unchanged."

Everyone looked at him with complicated expressions: Is it necessary to lick him like this?

Not a single word changed, a vernacular edict?

Zhu Changluo was almost unable to hold back his anger. He smiled on the surface, but his words were full of joy at being recognized: "It's too much to not change a single word. After all, I'm not good at writing. Grand Marshal, just stand up and speak. Which one do you want to change?"

Tian Le thanked him, stood up and said, "It's not that we are cutting down the Beijing camp for overcrowding, but that we are bringing the victorious soldiers into the Beijing camp for retraining."

Shen Yikuan and others became serious, and their eyes changed when they looked at Tian Le: What is he going to do?
Xu Wenbi was very surprised.

Zhu Changluo was also stunned: "After eliminating the unqualified ones... won't they all be elite soldiers?"

Appears naive and ignorant.

Tian Le looked at him deeply and said simply, "I know military affairs."

"...Since the Grand Marshal is in charge of the Ministry of War, he must be knowledgeable about military affairs." Zhu Changluo seemed to be willing to accept the advice, "Then change it this way."

"Xizhi, if you don't change a single word, wouldn't that make people all over the world..." Shen Yikuan said with a smile.

Tian Le interrupted him, "The tax collectors have repeatedly provoked civil unrest. The accumulated abuses over the past decade are known to the world. Why should we hide it? The new dynasty has a new atmosphere. The successor has the ambition to bring peace and prosperity to the country. This edict should be made known to the people of the world. Not only officials and gentry, but everyone in the world can understand it. If you still want to make up for the shortcomings, you should also say so."

"..."

Shen Yikuan was already very upset when he was interrupted by him, and now after hearing what he said, he knew that he was supporting the heir in another way.

why?
What's the point of asking everyone in the world to understand it? This kind of thing is for officials and gentry to see.

Tian Le's words caused silence in Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Changluo stood up and bowed. "I am very pleased to get a yes from the Grand Marshal. But the edict of enthronement is so solemn. I still need to polish it. I still need to study hard."

Shen Yi Guan watched this scene, then glanced at Yu Ji Deng: "Your Highness has great ambitions, is diligent and modest, does the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan think that the edict of enthronement should contain all matters?"

"We should pardon the world..." Yu Jideng gritted his teeth.

"Of course I should be pardoned." Zhu Changluo looked a little embarrassed again, "But my father abdicated to me, and before that there were many imperial decrees that would never be employed again or pardoned even if pardoned, I don't feel comfortable..."

Yu Jideng walked down the steps and said, "Your Highness is very filial, it is me who was confused."

Yes, the emperor just abdicated, he didn’t die.

He was still alive, so how could he be slapped in the face so obviously in the enthronement decree?
They "issued their own decree" to withdraw the mining supervisors and tax collectors.

Thinking that the successor emperor had agreed to the request to appoint him to the cabinet, Yu Jideng put all these aside.

It’s just that the heir apparent has given them a hint about what they will support in the future, and then the heir apparent will be informed of the pros and cons at the appropriate time.

What Tian Le wants to do is absolutely impossible!

Tianle then spoke quietly: "If you want amnesty, Your Highness only needs to ask for an imperial decree to pardon one person, and the world will know that things will be different from now on. It doesn't matter whether it is mentioned in the imperial edict or not."

"Who?"

Facing Zhu Changluo's gaze, Tian Le simply said a name: "Cao Xuecheng Cao Ximing."

Upon hearing this, the civil servants in the hall had complicated expressions, and then they all stood up and knelt to make peace.

Even Xu Wenbi and others, even the silly Zhang Weixian knew this person.

Even including Tian Yi, Chen Ju and Cheng Jing.

"What the Grand Marshal said is very true! Pardoning this one person is enough to let the people of the world know that the successor king will have great grace throughout the world!"

For a moment, only Tian Le did not kneel down to ask, because he had already proposed it.

In Liu Shimin's eyes, the heir to the throne and the Grand Marshal were looking at each other.

(End of this chapter)